lobbyist

noun

lob·​by·​ist ˈlä-bē-ist 

plural lobbyists

: one who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation : a person engaged in lobbying public officials

The new rule says that if you were a registered lobbyist in the past two years, you can't work for the administration on any issue you touched. After you leave government, you can't lobby the administration at all.

—Jacob Weisberg

Because so many lobbyists have past experience on Capitol Hill, they usually have personal ties both to members of congress and to their key staffers, who vet and prioritize the earmark requests.

—Ken Silverstein

Examples of lobbyist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In November, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing in which several legislators and bank lobbyists voiced their support for higher deposit coverage. —Tyler Curtis, Boston Herald, 20 Jan. 2026

Because a cap on APRs would eat into bank profits, card issuers would be likely to cut off the most vulnerable borrowers from credit, banks and bank lobbyists say. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026

The ultra-wealthy and their lobbyists are already gearing up to fight this effort. —Josephine Rios, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026

The federal corruption probe around Williamson cracked open a window to Sacramento’s campaign finance ecosystem, showing the sometimes questionable ways that lawmakers, lobbyists, consultants and interest groups use accounts to trade money, time and access. —Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 18 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lobbyist

• hobbyist